Igor Vovchanchyn MMA Legend

Igor "Ice Cold" Vovchanchyn (47-9) is one of the most devastating strikers in hand to hand combat history. His record more likely has another 20 or so NHB, no holds barred, and MMA fights in bouts that weren't sanctioned or reported. Prior to and during his MMA career, Igor also kickboxed in Russia, becoming Russia's kickboxing champion. Most databases have Igor's kickboxing record listed at (58-2).

The 5'8" spark plug threw heavy leather and never backed down from heavyweights who often towered over him. Sherdog has him listed as having the most KO victories in 95' and 96' during a time when many fights had few rules, long time limits, no gloves and meager paydays.

Igor debuted in mma in 1995, winning 4 fights in one day at the IAFC 1, in Moscow, Russia. It is unclear if he won that event, as another heavyweight had 4 wins on the 28 bout fight card. Igor won other tournaments including MSG 96', DNRF, IFC 1, IAFC 3, and World Vale Tudo Championship 5.

In WVTC 5, Igor KO'd all three opponents, and in the finale, KO'd Nick Nutter with a knee in 14 seconds, Nutter's last fight of his career. At this point, Igor was (23-1-1) and began his epic Pride Fighting career, becoming known for his knockout power.

Igor started off with a bang in Pride, knocking out Gary Goodridge with some nasty punches. Goodridge was a crowd favorite in that fight, making the victory at Pride 4 even sweeter. Igor spent the rest of his mma career fighting primarily in Japan, notably winning over Mark Kerr, Kazushi Sakuraba, Yuki Kondo, Gilbert Yvel, Valentijn Overeem, Enson Inoue, and Dan Bobish. He holds one of the nastiest KO wins in mma history over Francisco Bueno at Pride 8.

Kazushi Sakuraba - MMA Legend

Kazushi Sakuraba - By the MMA Blaster

The extremely entertaining Kazushi Sakuraba (26-17) appears to have retired from MMA for good, after dropping his last five bouts which were well after his prime.  Sakuraba was the face of Pride during its early days, eventually handing off the reigns to Fedor and Wanderlei Silva. Sakuraba will return for a grappling match against Dan Henderson at Rizen FF 7 in Japan.

Sakuraba's skills inside the ring were legendary, improvising kicks, punches, submissions, and passes that had never been seen before. Watching Sakuraba put his body on the line time and time again was something of beauty. Weighing 183 pounds, and sometimes less, he usually faced opponents with a considerable size, reach and strength advantage.

Sakuraba started as an amateur wrestler, wrestling in college and eventually placing fourth in the Japan championship. After graduating, Sakuraba started his career in professional wrestling and began to get schooled in catch wrestling.

Sakuraba was placed in the UFC Japan tournament only after another Japanese pro wrestler was injured. In his first bout with Marcus Silveira (6-4) John McCarthy incorrectly stopped the bout and reversed his call. The match was repeated for the championship and Sakuraba won via arm bar to be one of the last UFC tournament champs.

Sakuraba entered Pride and posted an armbar victory over Vernon White in his first fight. His second Pride fight was one of the best grappling displays ever in an MMA match against Carlos Newton (UFC WW champ) which Sakuraba eventually won via kneebar.

After a draw with Allen Goes , Sakuraba dominated Vitor Belfort (UFC LHW champ) with leg kick after leg kick and crazy guard passes for an innovative decision victory. He beat Royce Gracie (3X UFC Tournament Champ) in an unlimited time match in the 6th round. That fight single handedly erased much of the Royce Gracie hype and may have been the best he ever looked.


Sakuraba holds other notable victories over Ebenezer Fontes Braga , Anthony Macias, Royler Gracie , Guy Mezger (UFC 13 LW Champ), Renzo Gracie , Ryan Gracie , Quentin Jackson (UFC LHW Champ), Kevin Randleman (UFC HW Champ), Ken Shamrock (UFC Superfight Champ), Ikuhisa Minowa, and Masakatsu Funaki (2X King of Pancrase).  Sakuraba's last wins were over Zelg Galesic and former boxer Rubin Williams.

MMA World Grand Prix!

Rather than having the Olympics butcher MMA, why not an MMA World Grand Prix held outside the Olympic banner?

A World Grand Prix could consist of eight countries competing over three events that are spread out over four months. The rule-set would be the unified rules without elbows to the face of a downed opponent in an effort to reduce cuts. You could have weight classes from 135 up to heavyweight and a women's competitor.

The biggest challenge would be getting the best fighters in the world. As such, the competition would probably have to be co-promoted by the UFC, Strikeforce, One FC, M-1, Shooto and Bellator. If each promotion would be able to make money from the event, promoters might be agree to the idea.

We could see teams from Brazil, USA, Canada, Japan/South Korea, Russia, United Kingdom/Netherlands/Sweden, and Australia/New Zealand. Have the 8 team tournament fights play out over 3 events in 4 months like the old IFL. Allow teams to substitute fighters in if injuries occur. What country would win it all?

For the teams I've compiled below, you can qualify for the team if you were born in the country, are a citizen of the country, have a parent born in that country, or have trained or lived in the country for six months or more. I'm trying to compile two fighters per weight classes in case of injury. I'm working on the list right now, if you have suggestions, please post below.

BRAZIL

Captain and Head Coach: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

135- Renan Barao, Bibiano Fernandes (OneFC)
145- Jose Aldo, Pitbull Freire
155- Gleisen Tibau, Thiago Tavares
170- Demien Maia, Thiago Alves
185- Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort
205- Shogun Rua, Lyoto Machida
265- Junior Dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum
Women's 135- Amanda Nunes (Invicta), Vanessa Porto

UNITED STATES

Captain and Head Coach: Randy Couture

135- Urijah Faber, Michael McDonald
145- Pat Curran, Chad Mendes
155- Ben Henderson, Gilbert Melendez
170- Carlos Condit, Johny Hendricks
185- Chris Weidman, Luke Rockhold
205- Jon Jones, Dan Henderson
265- Cain Velasquez, Daniel Cormier
Women's 135- Ronda Rousey, Meisha Tate

TEAM FAR EAST: Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Philippines

Captain and Head Coach: Kazushi Sakuraba

135- Takeya Mizugaki, Masanori Kanehara
145- Hatsu Hioki, Chang Sung Jung "Korean Zombie" (S Korea)
155- Shinya Aoki, Takonori Gomi
170- Dong Hyun "Stun Gun" Kim (S Korea), BJ Penn (Korea/USA)
185- Yushin Okami, Riki Fukuda, Cung Le (Vietnam)
205- Brandon Vera (Philippines), Satoshi Ishii
265- Josh Barnett (Japan/USA)
Women's 135- Rin Nakai (11-0, Pancrase/GCM), Hitomi Akano

TEAM CANADA

Captain and Head Coach: Carlos Newton

135- Yves Jaboin (Canada/Haiti), Ivan Menjivar (Canada/El Salvador)
145- Antonio Carvalho, Chris Horodecki
155- TJ Grant, Mark Bocek
170- Georges St. Pierre, Rory Macdonald, Claude Patrick
185- Nick Ring, Francis Carmont (France/Canada), Pat Cote
205- Ryan Jimmo, Krzysztof Soszynski (Poland/Canada)
265- Steve Bosse, Smealinho Rama (6-0)
Women's 135- Sarah Kaufman, Alexis Davis

TEAM RUSSIA: Armenia, Belarus, Croatia, Lithuania

Captain and Head Coach: Fedor Emelianenko

135- Azamat Gashimov (Russia)
145- Dennis Siver (Russia/Germany), Deividas Taurosevičius (Lithuania)
155- Khabib Nurmagomedov, Alex Sarnavskiy
170- Marius Zaromskis (Lithuania), Magomed Shikshabekov
185- Alexander Shlemenko, Karlos Vemola (Czech Republic/UK), Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (17-2, Bellator, Russia)
205- Gegard Mousasi (Armenia), Vladimir Matyushenko (Belarus), Igor Pokrajac (Croatia)
265- Alexander Volkov, Stipe Miocic (Croatia/US), Sergei Kharitonov
Women's 135- Milana Dudieva

TEAM WEST EUROPE: United Kingdom, France

Captain and Head Coach: Ian Freeman

135- Brad Pickett, Vaughn Lee
145- Ross Pearson, Andy Ogle
155- Terry Etim, Paul Sass
170- Dan Hardy, John Hathaway
185- Michael Bisping, Tom Watson
205- Jim Manuwa (UK/Nigeria), Cyrille Diabate (France),
265- Cheick Kongo (France), Philip De Fries (UK)
Women's 135- Rosi Sexton (125), Aisling Daly (125)

TEAM SCANDANAVIA: Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Denmark, Iceland

Captain and Head Coach: Bas Rutten

135- Sirwan Kakai (Finland), Mikael Silander (Finland)
145- Joachim Hansen (Norway), Bart Palaszewski (Poland)
155- Reza Madadi (Sweden/Iran), Anton Kuivanen (Finland)
170- Martin Kampmann (Denmark), Gunnar Nelson (Iceland), Pascal Krause (Germany)
185- Mamed Khalidov (Poland/Russia), Tor Troeng (Sweden)
205- Alexander Gustafsson (Sweden), Marcus Vanttinen (Finland)
265- Alistair Overeem (Holland), Stefan Struve (Holland)
Women's 135- Marloes Coenen (Holland), Shiela Gaff (Germany 125)

TEAM AUSTRALASIA: Australia, New Zealand

Captain and Head Coach: Ray Sefo

135- Michael Mortimer
145- Daniel Hooker, Richie Vaculick
155- George Sotoropolis, Adrian Pang
170- Kyle Noke, Brian Ebersole (USA/Australia)
185- Hector Lombard (Australia/Cuba), Dylan Andrews (15-4, NZ)
205- James Te Huna, Anthony Perosh
265- Mark Hunt (NZ), Soa Palelei
Women's 135- Kate Aroa, Fiona Muxlow

Dan Severn - MMA Legend

Memories by the MMA Blaster


On a cold winter night while in high school back in 1996, my friends and I went to the local Family Video and rented UFC 1-4. All we needed to see was "No Rules" to know that we wanted to rent those tapes. 17 years later and I am still watching.

Dan Severn (101-19), an Olympic alternate, was a hero of those early tapes for the wrestling crowd. As a high school wrestler, it was nice to see tactics I used work effectively in a fighting situation. In his debut, with a week or so of training, Severn suplexed Anthony Macias twice before executing a crude rear naked choke. That moment was the first jaw dropping use of wrestling in modern mixed martial arts.

Severn cruised his way into the UFC 4 finals against Royce Gracie, whom had previously won UFC 1 and 2. Severn was able to take down Gracie, and held him there while throwing strikes until Gracie secured a triangle choke just before the 16 minute mark. However, the Beast was born that night.

Severn came back with a more rounded game and won UFC 5, the UU 95 Tournament and the Superfight Belt, now heavyweight championship, at UFC 9. Severn continued to utilize his superior wrestling skills throughout his career while adding submissions and BJJ black belt to dominate his opponents. He was the third member inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame.

Dan's notable wins come over a who's who list of MMA from old to new school- Oleg Taktarov, Ken Shamrock, Forrest Griffin, Paul Buentello, Mario Neto, Dave Beneteau, Wes Sims, Paul "Polar Bear" Varelens, Travis Fulton, Justin Eilers, Dan Christison, Dennis Reed, Brad Kohler, Anthony Macias, Robert "Buzz" Berry, Cal Worsham, Ruben Villareal and Tank Abbott. With the amount of Indian reservations he fought at, his number of victories is likely upwards of 150.

Bas "El Guapo" Rutten - MMA Legend

Like many, the first time I discovered how great Bas Rutten (28-4) was came after watching his performance in UFC. Bas Rutten has had a long and storied history. He initially decided to get into martial arts after seeing Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon. He started in Tae Kwon Do and then Kyokushin Karate. In his twenties, Bas started doing Muay Thai, and started his career with 14 straight KO victories.

Bas' next stop was in the Pancrase organization. His lack of ground game were pretty much the only reason he suffered his four losses, all before 1995. After honing the ground game, Bas was able to win the King of Pancrase three times. He won over Frank Shamrock, Minouru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki.

When he came to the UFC he captured the heavyweight crown over Kevin Randleman in a very controversial decision. His previous UFC bout was a slug it out victory over Tsuyoshi "TK" Kohsaka. Bas' other notable victories are over Yoshiki Takahashi, 3X stoppages of Jason Delucia, Guy Mezger, 2 subs of Maurice Smith, Manabu Yamada and various wins over other Japanese veterens. Watch out for the liver shot!




*The old Pancrase rules allowed for palm strikes to the head while standing and no strikes on the ground.

Masakatsu Funaki - MMA Legend

Masakatsu Funaki (39-13) is one of the original pioneers of mixed martial arts, even though many in the United States have never heard of him. He along with Minoru Suzuki started the Pancrase organization. It was one of the first mixed martial arts organizations, debuting after Shooto, but before the UFC.

Funaki won the King of Pancrase title on two occasions being the first fighter to do so. During his illustrious career, Funaki defeated top fighters Bas Rutten, Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Guy Mezger, Jason Delucia, Semmy Schilt, Minoru Suzuki, Yuki Kondo, Vernon White and various others. Masakatsu beat Ikuhisa Minowa at Dream 6 with an inverted heel hook in his last match.

He is credited with increasing the popularity of mixed martial arts in Japan when he triumphed over Bas Rutten with a toe-hold. In addition to his success in MMA, Funaki is a legendary Japanese pro wrestler.

Masakatsu Funaki vs Minoru Suzuki

Bas Rutten vs Masakatsu Funaki

MMA Legend - Fedor Emelianenko

Fedor Emelianenko (31-3) has generally been considered the number one overall MMA fighter since 2003 when he beat Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via unanimous decision to win Pride's heavyweight belt. Despite being only 6 feet tall and weighing 225-230 pounds, Fedor's heart, striking, submission skills, judo, and ability can't be questioned.

On Sherdog and various other MMA sites on the web Fedor has almost risen to a sort of mythical status as the consensus greatest of all-time. Unfortunately, with his recent two losses to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva, and the emergence of Anderson Silva, Fedor's aura has faded slightly. A win over former Pride champion Dan Henderson this weekend could definitely put a little shine on.

Many fans of MMA have been dying to see him in the UFC, and it appears he might be on the verge of signing. Since the collapse of Affliction, and Zuffa's purchase of Strikeforce, rumors about Fedor and the UFC have been swirling. However, the M-1 group which manages Fedor wants co-promotion of events and the UFC will not budge on that point of contention. Strikeforce agreed to that term, dying to get Fedor stateside.

There is no denying that Fedor has beaten some of the best mixed martial artists the world has ever seen. Fedor holds two decision wins over the aforementioned Nogueria, decision wins over Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, K1 legend Semmy Schilt and Ricardo Arona. He has KO victories over Heath Herring, Gary Goodridge, and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. He has submission victories over UFC HW Champ Tim Sylvia, UFC HW Champ Mark Coleman 2X, Mark Hunt, Matt Lindland, Naoya Ogawa, UFC HW Champ Kevin Randleman and Kazuyuki Fujita.

One of my favorite Fedor fights was his brawl with Kevin Randleman. Randleman suplexed Fedor on his head and miraculously, Fedor was able to regain composure and submit Randleman with a Kimura.

He recently defeated yet another former UFC heavyweight champ in Andrei Arlovski in his last fight. Arlovski was generally considered the #3 or 4 heavyweight in the world at the time. Despite taking quite a few of Arlovski's punches and kicks, he remained calm and knocked Arlovski out cold three minutes into the bout.

The only loss that Fedor suffered early in his career came at a Rings Tournament. Fedor had beaten Ricardo Arona by slim decision in his previous bout and was cut in that fight. 17 seconds into his second bout of the day he was struck by the elbow of opponent Tsuyoshi Kohsaka reopening the cut and leaving Fedor unable to continue. Rings rules did not allow elbow strikes unless elbow pads were worn. However, because they needed to have someone in the final TK was given a victory.

Ken Shamrock MMA Legend

MMA Legend Ken Shamrock (27-13-2) was one of the sports first stars and his fights in the 90's were some of the biggest in the world. Ken entered the MMA scene after going to Japan to enter pro wrestling. He began training in submission wrestling and the rest is history. In his fighting debut, Ken beat MMA Legend and mentor Masakatsu Funaki via arm triangle in Pancrase's first show in September of 1993.

In his next two Pancrase fights, Ken beat eventual 50+ fight veterans Kazuo Takahashi and Takaku Fuke via submission. Ken next entered the first ever UFC tournament, beating muscle bound kickboxer Patrick Smith via heel hook in less than two minutes. In his next fight, Ken got a takedown on Royce Gracie but ended up getting choked out.

Ken would go on to win the UFC Superfight belt at UFC 6 against Dan Severn who looked unstoppable. Ken defended the belt against Kimo Leopoldo at UFC 8, when Ken was most likely at his prime. Ken notched victories against UFC HW Champ/KOP champ Bas Rutten 2X (28-4), KOP Champ Masakatsu Funaki 2X, UFC Champ Dan Severn, UFC HW Champ Maurice Smith, Yoshiki Takahashi 2X, Kimo Leopoldo 2X, Patrick Smith, Ryushi Yanagisawa and many other long time mma veterans.

Prior to his foray into the WWE in 1997, Ken boasted a (23-5-2) mixed martial arts record beating some of the game's best. He has gone (4-9) since his return from professional wrestling in 2000. Ken'strategy of slugging it out with his opponents has not worked.

In addition to his prowess as a fighter, Ken is also a great trainer. Ken was one of the first fighters to really push the camp name. At the Lion's Den, Ken has developed some excellent MMA talent that have excelled inside and outside the ring including Mikey Burnett, Vernon White, Jerry Bohlander, Tra Telligman, Pete Williams and Guy Mezger. In Ken's last fight, he defeat 350+ pound Ross Clifton.

Here is a highlight video "The Leader of the Den":

The Leader of The Den - Ken Shamrock
Uploaded by A

Evan Tanner - MMA Legend

Evan Tanner (32-8, 11-5 UFC) is one of the true pioneers of the sport of mixed martial arts. The two time Texas state wrestling champ initially began learning mma through instructional videos, teaching himself.

Evan started his career in the now defunct USWF, submitting three fighters including former UFC Heavyweight fighter Paul Buentello in one night. After the tournament, Tanner defended the USWF heavyweight belt 7 more times throughout his career, last defeating Travis Fulton in 2000.

In Pancrase Tanner had a 5-1 record, becoming the first American to win the Neo Blood Tournament, defeating Pancrase and Pride veteran Ikuhisa Minowa, Kousei Kubota and UFC fighter Justin McCulley.

Evan Tanner will be best remembered for his run in the UFC. Tanner started with a submission and two TKO victories working his way into a title shot. Tito Ortiz ended those hopes with a vicious slam. Tanner was able to bounce back, submitting Homer Moore, TKO'ing Elvis Sinosic and getting a decision over Chris Haseman. After a loss to Rich Franklin, Tanner won twice in battles with Phil Baroni. His triangle choke victory over Robbie Lawler was a thing of beauty as he worked the move like a guy who had been practicing the move for the 15 years.

Evan Tanner's finest moment came when he defeated David Terrell for the Middleweight Title. Evan showed heart and warrior spirit fending off a deep guillotine choke eventually raining down punches on Terrell for the ground and pound win earning the UFC MW Title.

Evan Tanner
Uploaded by Panabas

Don Frye - MMA Legend

By the MMA Blaster



Don Frye (19-6, 9-1 UFC) is a true MMA legend. Every time he steps into the arena he brings an aggressive fire with him. He is probably best known to the internet community for the fight with Yoshihiro Takayama at Pride 21, when the two fighters punched each other hockey style in a wild fury with Frye coming out on top.

Frye was a wrestling standout at Arizona State University (ASU) where he learned under assistant coach Dan Severn. Frye would help train Severn for UU95, and Severn returned the favor to Don at UFC 8. Don won UFC 8 with three wins including a great one over Gary Goodridge in the final. Don also won the UU96 tournament, which included a crazy one minute and 22 second match against Tank Abbott for the title.

His 9-1 record in the UFC and the part he played in elevating the status of MMA in the United States should earn him a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame. He was 11-1 before taking a break in 1997. He returned in September of 2001 winning after being eye gouged by Gilbert Yvel.

In his next fight he defeated kickboxing legend Cyril Abidi. He continued to fight in K1 and Pride in addition to being a coach in the IFL. His Dear Don segments for the IFL are classic, one is included below the highlight reel. Last January, Don won a fight in the No Limits organization against Bryan Pardoe (12-10) by way of a :47 second knockout.

*In Don's first MMA match at UFC 8, Don KO'd 410 pound Thomas Ramirez in 8 seconds.

MMA Legend Kevin Randleman

Kevin "The Monster" Randleman (16-12) was a brute force in mixed martial from 1996 until 2002. Randleman captured the UFC Heavyweight Title with a victory over Pete Williams but soon lost the title to Randy Couture. Randleman scored victories over solid mma veterens Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic, Dan Bobish, Pedro Rizzo, Pete Williams, Maurice Smith, Ebenezer Fontes Braga, and Murilo Rua.

Since his loss to Rampage Jackson in 2003, Randleman has gone 2-7, with an impressive KO over Cro Cop. He also had Fedor close to defeat after a massive suplex. Fedor however was able to secure a kimura victory. Here are a couple highlight videos.

Frank Shamrock - MMA Legend

By MMA Blaster

Frank Shamrock (23-8) has had a long MMA career that has had its ups (11 fight win streak, 5-0 UFC) and downs (3 losses in a row). Frank has held belts in the UFC, Pancrase, Strikeforce (current MW champ), WEC and the WKC submission grappling championship (over Dan Henderson). He was initially trained under his brother Ken Shamrock, but has since moved on to his own gym and has trained some of the best in the world. Unfortunately, his IFL team was disbanded as part of their "revamping" period.



Frank started his career in Pancrase on December 16, 1994, were he beat Bas Rutten (28-4) in his first ever MMA bout. He eventually won the King of Pancrase belt from Minoru Suzuki (28-20) and posted victories over Takafumi Ito (33-26), legend Masakatsu Funaki (38-12), Vernon White (25-32) and other veteren Japanese fighters in Pancrase.

Frank Shamrock entered the UFC winning the Middleweight belt (now LHW) over wrestling olympic gold medalist Kevin Jackson (4-2) with an arm bar in 16 seconds. He then slammed undefeated Igor Zinoviev (4-1) into retirement in 22 seconds in his first title defense. He subbed Jeremy Horn (79-16) with a kneebar and beatdown John Lober in his next two defenses. Shamrock defended the belt once more in one of the best fights in MMA history against Tito Ortiz (15-5).

After a disagreement with the UFC, Frank left and fought once in K1 beating Elvis Sinosic. In 2003 Frank came back to win the WEC light heavyweight title in 1:47 with an armbar over Brian Pardoe (12-9). Since his comeback in 2006, Frank looked impressive in his wins against Phil Baroni (10-8) and quick KO of Cesar Gracie. Shamrock did not look very good in his DQ loss to Renzo Gracie.

Highlight Video:




Gif of Frank Shamrock v. Phil Baroni at Strikeforce/Elite XC